New budget ideas presented in district staff meeting

The Brush Board of Education met with staff from Brush Middle School last Tuesday to hear input regarding possible district budget cuts. (Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

With state funding diminishing, the Brush School District is no different than any other in the State of Colorado.In a meeting held for staff and the community last Tuesday night at Brush Middle School, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michelle Johnstone said, "We have to think about what we can cut…we have no choice, we have to cut."Dr. Johnstone and the board of education have been conducting meetings with staff and community members to gather ideas and opinions of where cuts can be made. The Brush district is looking to cut $550,000 each year for the next two years for a total of $1.1 million.Among the ideas generated from staff are reducing the art, music and wood shop programs, freezing steps for staff, offering early retirement, combining the English Language Learners (ELL) and Spanish positions, increasing class size, reducing the summer school offering, eliminating the Dean of Students position, Brush Bucks and the town bus route, as well as reducing the number of days for maintenance workers, the secretary pool, building and classroom supply budgets and workbooks and worksheets at the elementary level.Another suggestion includes investigating the possibility of a four-day week, which according to one BMS teacher, "was the big thing we agreed on.

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"Investigating this option are members of the District Accountability Advisory Committee (DAAC), said School Business Officer Aaron Oberg, adding that it is not necessarily something the board is looking at for this year.In response to a four-day week, a cafeteria employee asked how that would affect staff members who work 32 hours per week. "The board and I haven't gone through that part yet. We're going to explore all those options," the superintendent stated."There are lot of things that DAAC would have to consider…it's going to take some time and would be a serious change to the school week, the calendar year, classroom and staffing issues. One thing that needs to be analyzed is the estimated savings but we're not sure exactly what it is," Dr. Johnstone explained. "It does provide some cost savings, but it's very complicated. There are a lot of things to take into consideration.""That's probably the biggest change that has been deferred to next year. There's nothing worse than implementing a cut without considering all of the consequences," she added.One question raised asked how much money would be saved if the district were to cut its extra days. "We have talked about four day weeks," Dr. Johnston replied, further stating the savings to the district would be around $30,000 per day. But how much each teacher would lose is based on their individual paycheck, she added.New ideas presented at last week's meeting were to initiate a Brush Education Foundation that would help to backfill some of the revenue losses, along with reviewing the district's use of substitute teachers.According to Dr. Johnstone, staff members will be hearing from the district's calendar committee in regards to another idea to help reduce expenses.This option, she explained, would involve doing away with the early release each Wednesday. In return, students would be released from school twice a month at 1 p.m. on Friday. "We would have from 1 to 3:30 to go deeper into PLC (Professional Learning Community) time," she explained, adding that, by going this route, the district could save money on substitutes for the high school staff and coaches who are traveling for sporting events. "You will be given opportunities to weigh in on the calendars," she stated.One concern brought forward by a staff member is when teachers will know if they have a job next year. With job fairs typically held in the spring, the superintendent explained that staff will know the first week in April.With one more informational meeting to be held March 4 at Brush High School, board members will process ideas at its second meeting of the month, set for March 18, she said. "Our Board of Education is taking the opportunity of listening. It is important to weigh in and hear from you. We want the best, well-informed decisions for our district."The superintendent also addressed the question of where and what Title funds are used for in the district.With just under $300,000 total in these funds, Dr. Johnstone explained, "It comes in different categories."Title I funds are used for elementary reading intervention, with Title II funds targeted at teacher quality and improvement. Title III, she continued, is designated for ELL students, paying for paraprofessionals to work with students and translation services. "Title money is federal dollars and they are very specific on how you can spend it."Dr. Johnstone also explained that a Juvenile Assistance Grant is supplying funding for the School Resource Officers utilized by the district. Due to a change in the original agreement with the City of Brush and Police Department, the district now has four officers - one per building - with the grant paying overtime for four to six hours per week per officer. In all, a total of $46,000 grant was received by the Brush School District.The superintendent further explained that of the 178 school superintendents in Colorado, 168 wrote and signed a letter asking for restoration of the "negative factor" for K-12 education. "The negative factor has been impacting us ever since it was reduced," she noted.The letter requests that $275 million be put back into school funding, she stated, adding that if reinstated, would give $360,000 back to Brush. Currently, the governor's budget designates $100,000 to the district. "Superintendents around the state have said enough is enough. We have their attention…we are trying to get them to fund without tying strings to the budgets…they already have unfunded mandates out there," she remarked.Dr. Johnston recommended that staff and community members "tell your story" to the state legislators. "Apply pressure as voters, this is an election year…we need your letters, your calls to go out. We need to keep it in front of the media to try and apply pressure.""Rev the engine and push with us, we'd love it," she exclaimed. "Your stories, your kids mean more to the state than what I do or what principals do."Even if additional funding comes to Brush, the administrator explained the district will still need to make cuts, but "that depends on how the money comes. If it is designated as one-time money, the district could be told where to spend it, or it could come as unfunded mandates."Another question on the mind of one staff member, asked if there was any talk of consolidating with another district. "That talk came up in an economic meeting," the superintendent commented, adding that idea would have to go to a public vote for a decision.A second meeting for the community immediately followed with Oberg making his presentation on financial transparency, student achievement with community engagement and communication, pupil count, the district's budget, reduction in funding and balancing the budget."It's easy to say the district is in financial trouble, but that's incorrect…we are very financially stable," he reported, adding the district will be paying off an 11-year debt in approximately 5 1/2 years. "That's a good thing." The district also has gone further than required when it comes to offering information on its website, he added.He also explained that even though pupil count is growing for the district, per pupil funding has declined. "We have to teach more students and more students are identified as at-risk with less money and do it the way the state tells us to do it," he commented.Currently, the funding per pupil stands at $7,019.69, down from 2009 when it was $7,360.86. According to Oberg, this funding will not go up in the next year. The decline in funding, he explained, is that the General Assembly is no longer fully funding Amendment 23 which would have increased the base per pupil revenue and funding factors by the rate of inflation.This reduction, Oberg said, has resulted in the state taking back $8 million from the Brush School District over the last five years. "We are receiving less money and the community is taking on the burden by paying higher property taxes," he commented.When it comes to a balanced budget, the finance officer said, "The board has always, as it is required to do by state statute, balanced its budget. Just like your home budget, our revenue less our expenditures always balances. We will never spend more than we have."The list of possible cuts is never complete, he added, explaining administration will always take additional suggestions."The staff came together and brainstormed a list," Dr. Johnstone added. "The BOE is strictly listening. We only have one session to go through…they will work through the list. They have had no opportunity to talk about these amongst themselves. This is their time to listen."As in past meetings, parents voiced their concerns over possible cuts including art, music and wood shop with one parent stating, "Art, band and woods - these are not the places to start. For some of these kids, it's all they have…if we cut out of the middle and grade schools, do we honestly think our kids in high school are going to be able to compete when it comes time for scholarships?"Additional concerns for this parent included why the district has a Dean of Students, and the board attending the National School Board Convention in New Orleans this year."I agree with several of the cuts and some I don't," he stated. "I want you to really sit and think about some of the cuts. I understand that you have tough decisions."Another parent echoed the concern about the music, art and woods programs, telling the board, "It really deserves looking a lot at other things, which I'm sure you are, but do that before you go to the art and music program.""Art and music let you use both sides of your brain, they let you express yourself," said sixth grader Emily Evans. "It affects the whole community when you take this away…we made up petitions to show you that it is a big deal to us."Seventh grader Jordan Kendrick commented, "I feel that as kids we need to have band. We like it, it makes our day a little better and it keeps some kids in school because they enjoy going to band every day. It completes the school to say that they can provide this for them…it's hands-on learning, not just writing something down on paper."Another seventh grader told the board that sports are needed because of the bond it creates and "it has people outside and moving around, getting exercise, not inside playing video games."A parent of an eighth grader spoke up explaining that her son excels at music. "He is learning and learning, it would be a drag to pull away music…I enjoy going to the concerts. We need the music program. Music is a big part of everyday life and function of some.""I do my best to challenge the students in every day's class," a teacher stated. "They are putting their best effort forward. We have talked about how some kids come to school whose only outlet is art and music…it is the only challenge that pushes G/T (Gifted/Talented) students, the only enrichment some of them get…it is important to remember that some kids excel at everything, but they still need that enrichment."For one parent, the concern in losing the fine arts is that an increase could be seen in special education services."Music is not only enjoyable to him, the band students have their own sense of community," added another parent. "It is very apparent when you see those students together because the concerts are phenomenal. I can't imagine that not being an elective."Another staff member spoke up, stating, "As a teacher, I see what it does in the classroom as well. These are the classes that my kids look forward to and can excel in…they feel those successes.""As a parent and teacher in the building, I couldn't imagine not having any of our elective teachers here next year. They are part of our community and i enjoy having them here just as much as the kids," said another.The possibility of pursuing a Mill Levy Override (MLO) was brought up by another staff member as she isn't convinced that cutting "some of these little things are going to equate to some of these things to cut."Oberg explained that a 50.1 percent majority would be needed to approve a tax increase and the idea has not come before the board. Should an MLO pass, Oberg said, and using an assessed value of 7.9 percent, the increased cost would be $43.63 per every $100,000 of residential property. Nonresidential property would be much higher."There are cuts that will save us money next year and the next year, but if we continue this way, we're going to have to cut the next year and the next year," a teacher commented. "If you freeze a teacher's pay then ask us to pay more on insurance and lose four days, that's going backwards for us…many of us could go to the Front Range and make $15,000 or more a year. I've been here for 15 years, I don't want to leave, I don't want to go anywhere else because I love Brush. I love what I do here, but when you ask me to do those things, it's really scary."She also felt that increasing class size would be tough, as well as explained that if the Dean of Students position is eliminated, the responsibilities would fall on other people in the district. "We're spread thin," she commented, adding, "We don't want to cut anything at our middle school. We need to come together as a community and decide what is best for our students and our children."The next meeting of the Brush Board of Education will be held Tuesday, March 4, at Brush High School. The board will meet with staff at 5 p.m., with a community meeting at 6 p.m., followed by the regular board meeting at 7 p.m.